Final Fantasy: The Last Hero
by Yoshiman
Summary: Is your destiny chosen by the prophesies? Or can you forge your own? FINAL FANTASY ORIGINAL
1. Prologue

It's here! It's here! The beginning of my first Final Fantasy story! Dance and Dance!

  


Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer. There shouldn't be a need for disclaimers. You'll notice three things: This story is on Fanfiction.net; this story is rated PG-13, and this story is written by me. You write your own disclaimer from these facts. And no, you can't say this story belongs to you. That's just stupid. Why did you assume that you could do that? That's even stupider.

  


FINAL FANTASY

THE LAST HERO

  


By Yoshiman

  


PROLOGUE

  


The hallway was massive. Even though it was built a hundred years ago, the white marble of the walls didn't show any age at all. The upkeep expenses for the palace were enormous, but pocket change compared to the venture that was about to start. . .

Rally Morior wandered down the hall, humming to himself a remarkably familiar tune, though he never could remember where he heard it or what it was written for. But he hummed it still, and he remembered the tune clearly as it was daytime.

Well. . . it _wasn't_ daytime right then, but he could remember the music.

Thunder crashed. It was currently one of the worst storms that the kingdom of Salria had since the castle was built. The calm, magically lit hallways gave a nice contrast to the thunderstorm that you could see outside.

Rally glanced father down the hallway. The thing was so huge he had to squint in order to make out the throne room door at the other end, which was also made of white marble. It was a nasty inconvenience to have to walk down the entire hallway just to see the most important man in the world, but who was Rally to complain?

But eventually, he made it down the hallway, and loudly opened the throne room doors.

"Your Majesty." Rally said flatly, before raising the hand crossbow that was strapped to his arm right up to his eye level. Before the guards around the king could react, he fired.

A choking sound was heard. But from the curtain behind the throne. A guard rushed over to the back. "It's a spy, m'lord. He's dead."

"You should be more careful, your majesty." Rally said, "This mission is top secret, after all."

"Yes, yes. . ." The old king replied, "Guards, if you would. . ." The bodyguards helped the royal man off the throne and towards the back conference room. Rally followed them in. The door shut and locked behind them, and the guards stood patiently outside.

"Your majesty," Rally politely asked, "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, everything has been safeguarded, except for one minor problem area. . ."

"Bahamut Valley?"

"I'm afraid so. The bandits still own the area. . . we might have to cancel the plan if we can't reclaim the territory. . ."

"Leave it to me, sire."

"Rally! If you die, this entire project could go under!"

"And if I don't die and fail, this project would go under anyway. Besides, I know just what to do."

". . . alright. My kingdom is in your hands."

"Thank you, your majesty. I shant be very long."

"Not very long? But Bahamut Valley is a fortnight away."

"On land."

The king blinked in surprise. What did Rally mean by that?

Rally, on the other hand, raised the communicator on his other arm to his mouth. "Cid, all's clear. See you on the roof in five."

"The roof?" The king was really wanting to know what was going on now.

"I might tell you later, sire. But now, I gotta fly." Rally ran out of the room in a breeze.

  


The king hobbled out of the room too. "What is he up to? Guard," He turned to one of his bodyguards, "Take me up the secret path to the roof. I need to know what's going on. . ." The guard complied by quickly walking to the back of the throne and flipping a hidden switch. A door opened up in the wall, and the soldier led the frail king up the stairway behind it.

The roof was not too far above them, and the two made it up easily. Rally was already there.

"Sire! What a pleasant surprise! You're just in time to see. . . ah, here he is now!"

A great burst of wind erupted from seemingly nowhere, causing the guard to hold on tighter to his frail master.

"He's here! See you, your majesty!"

Rising from the castle's side, a great flying ship emerged. It looked much as the ones that sailed the seas, but it _flew_.

"Amazing. . ." The king said, startled.

"It's the Age of Discovery, your highness! One must expect these feats from our craftsmen!" Rally yelled as he leaped onto the flying machine, "Don't worry, I'll clear off the bandits, and then we can get the Wind Crystal with no problem at all!"

The ship lunged away from the keep, and took off toward the desert. "The goddesses be with us all. . ." The king said, still amazed.

  


"Cid, my man!" Rally slapped his friend on the back a little too hard, "You have got to teach me how to fly this thing myself sometime!"

"I ain't got no time. I've started work on an automatic flying device."

"Woah! Like without controlling it?"

"Precisely." Cid scratched his beard which was becoming increasingly infested with lice.

Rally covered his fire blond hair, "Take a time-out for hygiene at least! No telling what sort of things are breeding under that cap of yours!"

"Oh, tis' nothin to worry about. They keep me company at night."

Rally backed immediately away. "Alright. . . I'll be in the. . . shower room. . ."

"Ain't no runnin water on this yet, that comes later."

"Since when has 'auto pilot' become a priority over 'clean'?!"

Cid snorted, "Ah, that was just the way it fell in the schedule. . ."

Rally stomped off, still headed for the shower room, of which he promptly slammed the door shut and looked in the mirror.

He was still in his early twenties, and yet still became King Bannon Salria's top agent with little training. He was an adept at fighting, carrying four swords and four daggers on him at all times, for varying reasons. Certain swords just wouldn't do at times. . . and his daggers were left in easily missed places on his person. His arms were absolutely covered with every kind of tool needed for most jobs, like breaking and entering, stealth assassination, quick escape and even for confusing his enemies.

Rally tapped on his timepiece. Five in the evening. That left time for him to have a quick dinner after defeating the bandits in Bahamut valley. Quickly adjusting his neck, Rally about faced and left the shower room, and approached the docking bay.

"Cid, prepare for descention into Bahamut Valley!"

"Aye, sir!" Cid pulled various levers and pressed multi-colored buttons on the large steel control panel, and yanking the cord next to the wheel, the ship slowly descended into the valley. "The ship can't squeeze down too far, so be prepared for a long fall!"

"I'm prepared for Ragnarok!"

"Well, that won't do you any good if you can't survive a fall! Bombs away!" He flipped a massive level while repeating to himself, "Hey. . . I ought to coin that phrase. . ."

Rally, meanwhile, was falling.

  


"YAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOO!!" After a minute of falling, he pulled the ripcord on his pack, and a great white parachute unfolded, lowering him safely the last 800 feet. He pulled another ripcord, and the parachute sprang up into his pack once more. "Gotta love technology." He whispered to himself, then made his way to finding the bandit's headquarters.

  


  


Tune in tomorrow for Chapter One! Until then, Ciao!


	2. In which Rally completes t task at hand

Chapter One! Today's Characters: Eloon Kielson by Luigi of the Pipes! And Kopu, Daimond and Ruby by Billy Bob Burmstrang!

  


Chapter One

In which Rally completes the task at hand, sort of

  


Five bandits surrounded him, which was considerably stupid of them, since Rally had more weapons than all of them put together. He whipped out the swords from their scabbards on his back, then attacked in a whirlwind fashion, hacking the thieves into dead lumps of flesh. "Swarming like flies already?" Something big was going on, and it became more obvious the closer he got to the main tent, the big purple expansive tent, which might have well have cost more than the palace itself.

This was still an espionage mission, or was turning into one. Rally carefully crept up to the large tent opening, completely equipped with the bandit disguise he stole off an unfortunate victim of his self-defense.

"Five thousand."

"He is not worth half that. Look at how weak his back is."

"He carries much more magic than you. Five thousand is a bargain."

"Magic! He could turn on me at any moment with that power!"

"But he carries the power of the great Defenders. . ."

"A summoner, at that! It would take my best magicians just to keep him in line!"

"I swear, he won't be a bit of harm! I brought him all the way to you, didn't I?"

"I bet you two are in this together! To swindle me! I won't have it!" The man, who was clad in a yellow and white robe, stormed out of the tent, brushing past rally, who still his his Salrian uniform under his disguise. Rally then sneaked into the tent.

"You!" The slave dealer mentioned to him, "Would you be interested in a. . ."

"Yes. . . as a matter of fact, I would."

"Splendid! I'll bring him out for you."

Rally yawned as the merchant made his way behind the elaborate blue and gold cloth that separated the tent into two parts. He was here to do his job, but a Summoner? If he could befriend enough powerful allies, taking care of the bandits would be a cinch. Sure, he could probably take them all on by himself without even needing to refer to a Tonic once. But that might take weeks, considering how dense the criminal population was around these parts.

"Here he is!" The merchant with the annoyingly high-toned voice and foreign accent kicked out a man who looked quite common, wearing a dusty blue jacket and brown slacks. "Here is the Summoning man."

"Summoner." He said to the slave. The slave looked up. "Summon me up a minor defender."

The summoner man said nothing, but waved his hand once. At once, a great shimmer of light erupted from the tent, as the shape of the White Chocobo appeared. It was about to attack, but the Summoner stopped it, then called it off, it disappearing in a thin wisp of smoke.

"Impressive." Rally mentioned, "I'll give you one thousand."

"No! I will only go for five thousand, no less!"

"Honestly, do you think anyone wants a slave like this? With more power than the master?"

". . . I am sorry sir, you are right. Three thousand, then."

"Two thousand."

"Two thousand five hundred."

"Two thousand two fifty."

"Sold." He pocketed the wad of gil that Rally handed to him, then led the slave outside.

Quite unexpectedly to the Summoner, Rally then quickly dragged him over behind an equally large tent on an unoccupied side of the massive camp. He tore off his hood, revealing the Salarian crest on his bandanna.

"I'm with the Salarian Special Operations Unit. I'm here to clear the bandits out from this desert."

"What do I care?" The Summoner almost shouted, "I don't care about anything political. I was a mercenary before I was captured in combat."

"I got you free. How about we count that as one free mission, then?"

". . . Deal."

"What's your name?"

"Eloon."

"Well, Eloon, do you know of any information as to why so many bandits are here?"

"I overheard it somewhere. Apparently the King of Bandits is here and is looking for new men to add to his elite squadron."

"Hmm. Any details?"

"Someone named 'Ruby' was going to be a hands-down choice, as she can use swords, bows and black magic. Her younger brother, Daimond, is a summoner like myself, but doesn't have near enough magic skill. It's also suspected that Kopu, the Moogle White Mage Thief, is here."

"I've heard of him. He's the annoying mercenary with a high price that can make things 'disappear'."

"The same."

"I'm formulating a plan already. I'll need to see the situation a little closer up. Come with me." Rally pulled the hood back over his head. "I think you'll need a disguise, first. One second." Rally ducked inside the tent. From the outside one could hear a muffled scream. Rally emerged from the tent. "Here you are. Used once, slight stain. Wear it in pride."

"Thanks. . . I think."

Rally and Eloon made their way through the desert streets of the bandit's camp, looking at all the bazaars of stolen goods. Black marketry of every sort was committed at the corner of every tent, and probably even inside them, as well. Considering it's a thief's market, of course.

"What's that big tent, over there?" Rally asked his companion.

"That must be where the goings-on are taking place."

"I have an idea. We'll enter the tournament, and once we've narrowed out the tougher riff-raff, it'll be easier to shut the place down."

"You're not forgetting that the King of Thieves is quite an opponent, are you?"

"We'll get him alone. . . then assassinate him."

"He always has body-"

"We'll _be_ his bodyguards."

"Ahh. I see. . ."

"Put this on." Rally picked up a random sword our of a nearby earthenware jar, "You may need it." Eloon reluctantly took to weapon and strapped it around his waist. "Remember, this is over, I'm outta here."

"Well, I never counted on it anyway." They both headed for the tent. The inside was so jam packed of thieves that Rally was afraid something would get stolen off of him if he didn't get out soon. "We'll need another way in. . ." Rally and Eloon headed around to the back of the tent, where a small rip was just large enough for the both of them to get through. "Blend in." He said simply, and the two were converged in with the crowd.

"Alright everybody! The tournament is about to begin!" A voice called out from a high place in the tent."

"Rally? There's no one in this section of the tent." Eloon stated.

"What do you mean, this section?" Rally was still turned to one side inspecting a large coffer in the corner.

"I mean, we're sealed off from the crowd. We're in a cage."

"AND NOW!" The voice announced, "WE GIVE YOU OUR TWELVE COMPETITORS!"

"A _cage_?" Rally tried to keep his voice discreet, "We're in a _cage_? What do they need a cage for at a tour. . . oh no. . ."

"THE CHALLENGERS WILL FIGHT THE WILD SANDDRAGON! THOSE LEFT STANDING WILL BE ACCEPTED INTO THE KING OF THEIVE'S ELITE GUARD!"

"_SandDragon!?_" Eloon yelled. A large shadow fell over the two as the cage opened toward the center ring. . .

  


"This'll be a cinch." The thief Daimond stated, "We've been fighting Gas Dragons on the mainland for the last year." He stood defiantly, although standing before nothing, his black body armor shining brightly. He was ready for this moment.

"The other contestants don't look so tough. . ." Ruby said, "Most of them are going to be eaten alive on the first swoop." She wore a red breastplate, and brown pants. Her sword was down, it was another full minute until the gates were to open.

"Look at it this way," Kopu, a moogle with a silver pom-pom, replied, "_We_ have no chance of dying."

"You're not allowed to cast magic before the dragon is out, you know the rules."

"Yes, but they never said anything about Relics. . . Kupo." Kopu reached into a saddlebag of the miniature Chocobo next to him, "Off with ya, Warky, you'll get hurt." He said to it. The Chocobo warked and ran to a far side of the tent, away from the action. "With these. . ." Kopu held up three badges that he had taken, "We can't be hurt. Kupo. Earth-based attacks will actually heal you. We'll be fresher than daisies before this is over. Kupo."

"Thanks." Daimond took one and pinned it onto his cloak, "I remember what I do. Once the dragon is out, I summon the defender Golem, so his claw attacks will be blocked."

"And Ruby?" Kopu turned to her.

"I cast Water. We've been through this a dozen times."

"I know, but no reason not to be extra prepared, Kupo. . ."

The announcements finished off, ". . . STANDING WILL BE ACCEPTED INTO THE KING OF THEIVE'S ELITE GUARD!" Trumpets blared, and the gates opened.

"Wait for it. . ." Kopu said, "He has to appear. . ."

Moments passed. "I hear it, what's keeping it so long?" Ruby asked. Some of the other thieves around were getting nervous. Daimond's knees started giving way. "You know those stories. . . SandDragons are ten times as powerful as Gas ones. . ."

"They can't be too hard. . . can they?"

The great dragon suddenly burst out of the cage, it's eyes shining brightly. The crowd cheered.

"Cast it! Now! Kupo!" Daimond chanted a few word that were still largely unknown to the other two, and suddenly Ruby called out, "Who are _they?_"

Rally and Eloon were running like madmen directly for the area of effect Golem would be called to.

"They'll mess everything up!" Kopu shouted, "Daimond, stop casting, Kupo!"

Daimond had to ignore him, as there were severe consequences for stopping in the middle of a spell. Just as Rally and Eloon approached the then-foot mark, a ring shone up around, and the Defender Golem appeared.

"Luck!" Eloon shouted, "We're protected by Golem!"

Rally glanced over at the three thieves in front of him. "Don't mind us, we're just trying not to die." Eloon and Rally ran off to another side to engage the dragon.

"Golem'll have to compromise between us!" Daimond said, "We have to follow them! There were some magicians behind us that _were_ going to cast Leviathan, Kupo!"

"Nice plan, Kopu," Ruby said, steamed, as the ran after Rally and Eloon, "This will make things fore difficult. I hope you have a %*$# plan B."

  


In the upper balcony, the King of Theives was seated between his adviser and his sniper. "Well, can we be expecting a failure like last year?" He asked.

"Last year was a lot of nobodys." The adviser told him, "Last year was not a good year. This year we have Kopu the Rider White Mage Thief, Daimond the Summoner, Ruby the Black Knight, and Tasaly, the. . . uh oh. . ."

"Uh oh what?"

"Tasaly the Invincible was just cut in half. . ."

The King of Theives sighed.

  


"Time to fight!" Rally had enough space between him and the dragon to begin. He pulled out the twin swords from off his back scabbards, and prepped in the fighting positions. "Eloon, make with something good."

"Shiva good?"

"Perfect."

Eloon stood behind Rally and began chanting his spell. Daimond, Ruby and Kopu caught up with them, and Golem moved with them, under the ground as it normally does. "Fools!" Ruby yelled at Rally, "You could have gotten us all killed!"

"You could have done it yourselves, too. If you don't mind me, I have some tail to kick." He ran and leaped forward, much like a trained Dragoon, and slashed at the dragon's neck before returning to his spot.

"Well, I guess we could use some impromptu body shields, er, help, Kupo." Kopu said, "Alright, no moving around. We need to stay together so Golem can help us all. Kupo."

Daimond ran forward and attacked, then retreated back to the safety of the circle.

"I've wondered," Ruby said, "Why most modern fighting styles have you run forward to attack, then back to your original spot. . ."

"I wouldn't know, I taught myself to fight." Rally said.

The dragon was now taking notice of the five. His head lurched forward, jaws wide open, showing his many, many rows of teeth.

"Gah!" Kopu yelled, "I hope this works!"

The sandy floor burst open and the Defender Golem stood in the way. The dragon's mouth closed sharply on him, breaking away most of his arm. Rubble fell around, but Eloon was ready now.

"Daimond Dust!" Shiva appeared from the air, shrouded in a colt mist. Her eyes glowed powerfully, and the mist scattered about her. Ice particles formed in the air.

"Well, my turn. . ." Ruby stretched out her arm. "Water!" She called, and the spell flowed from seemingly nowhere, rushing forward to attack the earth creature. It roared in pain when the attack hit, and moreso when the icicle spears did likewise. But it was barely a scratch. Rally backed away a bit, anticipating a batter strategy.

"This may take a while. . ." Kopu said, "Other summoner dude, do you know how to call Leviathan, Kupo?"

"No. . ." Eloon replied.

"Golem?"

"No. . ."

"We're in for a much longer battle than I anticipated, kupo. . ." The SandDragon lurched forward again, taking out part of Golem's head. Rock rained down on the few again. "Golem will not hold out much longer. Daimond, you remember what comes next, Kupo?"

"Summon Leviathan, then Golem again." Daimond ran out and slashed at the beast again. "It'd be easier if what's-his-name knew either of them. . ."

"Stupid one-summon-at-a-time law kupo. . ." Kopu muttered under his breath. He raised his boomerang and tossed it at the beast, hitting, but not leaving much of an identifiable mark.

Everyone poised to attack again, when from the outer rims of the arena, someone ran inside, yelling, "SAND WORM!"

"This time of year?!" Rally asked no one in particular, "We're out of here!" He took Eloon by the collar and ran off the one of the entrances.

"Wait for us!!" Kopu decided that with that in mind, the situation was grim enough, and ran off in Warky's direction.

"Kopu you $*^% coward!" Ruby yelled, "Come back here!"

"I'd say, sis," Daimond mentioned, seeing the ring of protection move away from them, "that were about to be Dragon food or Worm bait. . ."

"Let's run!" She grabbed her brother by his collar and made off to the nearby Chocobo stables.

  


The crowds were panicking themselves, and not much minding the dragon that was wondering where all the food was running off to. Most of the Chocobo's in the stables were stolen (This is a bandit area, after all) immediately, only the faithful ones kicked off the foreign riders.

From the air, Cid saw a huge stream of people moving southward. "That's odd. . ." He said to himself, "I wonder what Rally did this time. . . Better go to the rescue again. . ."

  


"Rally, everyone's headed the other way!" Eloon yelled. Shiva moved behind them, ready for the next command.

"That means. . ." The ground rumbled, and the tent was torn from the ground in a huge explosion of sand and Sand Worm. It's head flew up with the tent in it's mouth, throwing it at the cloth and wood in the general direction of the panic. Them in one fell swoop, it plunged onto the SandDragon, devouring it whole.

"Well. . . that's a very bad sign." Rally said at he almost fell backward trying to see the entire thing.

"Shiva!" Eloon called out, "Defend against it!"

Shiva moved between the sand worm and Rally, and encased them in an ice defense. The Sand Worm sensed them, and on it's next attack, knocked Shiva away. The spell dissipated.

"Gaah!" Eloon yelled, "That was my strongest summon, and it dealt too much damage to her in one blow!" The Sand Worm rared as it lunged for the two partners.

The airship plummeted downward through the air, and it struck the worm on its neck. Barely a scratch, the Sandworm reared back to attack, but the ship was already gone.

"Yeah! How'd it go, kid?" Cid shouted almost directly into Rally's ear, who had dragged Eloon onto the lifeline.

"Ow!" Rally said, wincing a little, "Well, the Sandworm meddled in affairs a bit, but I think we are in the clear. The King of Thieves won't be bothering us for a long while if he survived. . ."

"Wow! Good thing I came when I did! Who's he?" Cid motioned to Eloon.

"Ss. . . sandworm. . ." Eloon stumbled onto the ship in a shaking craze, stumbling over some crates stacked on the ground. "Get out. . . no more desert. . ." He curled up in a ball on the floor and shook nervously.

"He's not used to the adrenaline." Rally commented.

"Oh, okay. Back to the castle!" Cid said, oblivious to the crazy Bounty Hunter behind him, and revved the engines, speeding off toward Castle Salaria in the distance.

  


  


Tune in next time for another amazing installment of Final Fantasy: The Last Hero! Until then, Ciao!


	3. In which Rally makes an improvisation

Finally. This chapter's character, Draco Cicuna, has been brought to you by Psystorm. I may or may not be using him in character, but at least he's going to be different from every other character for crying out loud! Ahem. . . sorry. I think that characters should have a more interesting background instead of all being wanderers. *Gets smacked for story 'Vagabond'* Ow. . . Anyway, I'll talk more at the end. Later!

  


Chapter Two

In which Rally makes an important discovery

  


A very large crowd had gathered around the castle's roof, watching the huge, flying ship fall gently through the air (Even if it was making a massive amount of noise) and land in the gap that was left by the surrounding audience. The engines shut off, and a large staircase lowered from the deck.

"Your majesty!" Rally stood at the top of the steps, facing the king, "Mission accomplished!"

"Well!" the old king replied, glancing around at the castle servants which made up most of the crowd, "Not bad at all! Thanks to this contraption you have. . ."

"Mine, sir!" Cid stepped into view, "I designed this thing from almost scratch, and I have you to thank for it!"

"Cid?" Salaria looked up at his, trying to focus his blurry vision, "Why Cid Soral, I had almost forgotten about you!"

"You _did_, your majesty," he said, "I distinctly remember your guards carving the unemployment notice onto my door."

"Oh, yes! Now I remember. . ." the king murmured, "You were diverting military funds into your projects that rarely worked. . ."

"But they do!" he said.

"Sire. . ." Rally wished to continue the previous conversation, "I would like to ask, what's the next mission?"

"Next mission!" The king said, "Come with me!" Rally bounded down the steps and followed the king back down the corridor that led to the great hall. Cid looked on, watching.

"A. . . are we out of the desert?" A voice from the back asked.

"Yes, Eloon, we are." Cid spoke in a falling tone of demerit.

"Oh. . . good." The Summoner appeared from below deck, no longer wearing the thief's disguise. "I guess that I'll be going, then. . ."

"The guards will shoot you on sight, since you're a stranger walking through the halls of Castle Salaria."

"Oh. . ." Eloon looked over the side of the hull, down at the white stone that the ship was sitting on, "I see. . ."

"So. . ."

"Well, then. . ."

"How about a game?"

"A game?"

"Yeah! Let's play some Battle Squares!"

  


"My spies have recently reported that Marticia may have caught wind of what we are doing," said the king as the tow walked down the white marble hallways, "And as such, we can carry out the operation, but with extra precautions."

"Sire. . ." Rally scratched the back of his neck as he made his statement, "What with all the war that's been happening, are we sure that this isn't just a last ditch effort?"

"It's very important, Rally. We are not in _full_ danger of being wiped off the face of the earth, but we can't take any chances."

"Sire, I think it's a little much, still. The legends say. . ."

"Forget the legends." The king responded, "Nothing will happen; those were fabricated to keep people away from the tombs."

"Yes, sire. But there's always the chance. . ."

"Alright, Rally. I'll give that to you. But this mission must be accomplished. Again, the unit to unit that is to retrieve the crystal is the elite of the elite, but you are to be the scout. Check for anything dangerous that could wipe out the lot of them, and be _especially_ on the lookout for Marticians. The war room is where it always is. The foreigner. . . umm. . . yes, General Cicuna will be briefing you."

"Cicuna? You mean the half-dragon?"

"That one. He's your commanding officer, so respect him."

Rally winced, "I don't know, sire. . . he has an awful temper. . ."

"You will do as I say. The mission starts ofter the unit has been briefed. Understood?"

"Yes, sire." Rally gave the normal salute, which he almost always forgot to give, raising his right fist to his shoulder and grabbing the wrist with his left. The king nonchalantly turned and proceeded down the hallway. Rally watched him go, until the king had left his sight, then he took his bandanna and threw it on the floor, kicking it and grinding it into the stone for effect. "Why didn't I see it before!" He yelled to himself, and grudgingly replaced his headband, and walked down towards the war room.

The castle looked even better during the day. The walls shone as brightly as the sky, the pillars toward the outer balconies cast deep shadows on the opposite wall. It was even more spectacular than the main hall to the throne room, at least, in Rally's eyes. The ceiling was maybe a hundred feet high, the pillars were enormous, and the view of the kingdom on this side was fantastic. And Rally didn't care.

The hallways resounded dully with his footsteps, and before long, he passed the kitchens. Something good was cooking inside, and Rally hoped it wasn't roasted chocobo. Sure, it tasted great, but it was kind of cruel. . . he happened to like chocobos, he thought, before he was immediately distracted once more by the memory of his recent revelation. The prophesy. Yes. . . he remembers reading a book in the library on it when he was ten years old. . .

  


_Woe unto he who disturbs any of the four stones that protect the land, the seas, and the air_

_Woe unto the man who moves the Crystal of Wind, the winds shall cease and poison will fill the sky_

_Woe unto the man who moves the Crystal of Earth, the ground will spoil, and plants shall cease to grow_

_Woe unto the man who moves the Crystal of Fire, drought will plague you forever, and the sun shall scorch you_

_Woe unto the man who moves the Crystal of Water, never again shall you sail on the seas or drink pure water_

_Woe Woe Woe_

_The planet shall rot out of the galaxy_

_and fall into the abyss_

  


That was a particularly brutal curse, Rally realized. He'd take another look in that book when he had the time, but he decided it would be best to go and get his mission briefing from General Cicuna. Yeah, he was a half-dragon, from a region pretty far south; he joined the military academy and rose up in rank within four months to general. He was amazing to watch in battle; why he was left to brief soldiers on tactics and not on the front lines leading the best battalion of troops to an easy victory up in Marticia was beyond him. That did seem rather odd. . . the greatest general in the Salrian army left behind to do a tactician's work. Maybe he'd ask the king about it later, who'd probably give him another runaround answer.

The guard at the tactician office door saluted Rally, "Password, please."

"Let me in, you idiot!"

"Sorry, the word going around is that Marticia has sent spies across the border. You'll need to give the password."

Rally groaned, "But I hate the password!"

"You gotta do it."

Sighing and burying his face in his palms, Rally said the password softly, "Great be the imp, now lend me your ear, he'll sneak right up behind you and stab you in your rear."

"Sorry, a little louder?"

"GREAT BE THE IMP, NOW LEND ME YOUR EAR, HE'LL SNEAK RIGHT UP BEHIND YOU AND STAB YOU IN YOUR REAR! NOW LET ME IN!"

The guard snickered and opened up the door, "Right this way. . ."

"I am _so_ going to slit your throat while you sleep for that." Rally pointed at the guard as he walked into the passage. The door closed behind him, and General Cicuna looked up at Rally, "Having fun with the password, I see."

"Shutup. Let me hear about the mission."

"Alright. . ." General Cicuna stood behind a table that had a rather large map of the Northern Lands, as well as several figurines representing various forces that would probably be interacting with Rally soon enough. "This is the elite force you'll be scouting for." Cicuna pointed to a red figurine of a knight with his pointer stick, "and here is the front lines." Parts of it were getting very close the the standard path to the temple. "The team needs to deviate right here and go through this area right here."

"You're kidding; that's the Marshlands!"

"Not anymore they aren't. They finished the draining project last week. Luckily for us, the enemy hasn't found out about it yet, so hopefully they'll ignore the troops once they move here. But still, you are to investigate areas here, here, here, here, here. . ." Cicuna pointed to a whole lot of places on the map, "The problem is that there's only one of you, and we can't rely on many other scouts too well especially at the speed we're going. Here's the deal: Most of the locations are just rumors; Intelligence doesn't want to take any chances, but they listed no priority points. The best way to find out would be to go over the reports yourself. One thing, though. This point right here _must_ be checked no matter what the reports say. Remember also that you disbanded the thieves, so that most reports of them can be ignored, except maybe up near Bahamut Valley. It'll be a good idea to check towns along the way too, the troops can only fend off so many attacks since they're traveling so light. Is this clear?"

"Sure thing. When do I start?"

"You mean when do _we_ start."

"_We?_"

"Yes, the king requested that I come along. I'll be leading the elite troops."

Something about that sounded awfully suspicious to Rally.

  


Eloon yawned. He had no clue how Battle Squares became _the_ game of the region, because to him, it got boring very fast. The fact that he didn't have any good battle pieces didn't help much, either.

"I win again!" Cid grinned, Eloon had to look away from the repulsive stare of the engineer, or maybe from the spit that was probably corrosive.

"Good job, I suppose." He collected his pieces back up, or rather, what he had left. Battle Squares was played on a board of 25 squares, and the players had their own pieces. Five pieces were placed on either side; each different piece had a different power. The object was to get one piece to the opposite side, and the loser had to give away any pieces that were not on the home row. Needless to say, Eloon's travel pack was lighter than it was when he arrived, and he hadn't even taken a break for breakfast yet. But it was probably lunch now anyway. "Sun's high in the sky; shouldn't we get something to eat?"

"Huh? Oh! Sure, I suppose the guards will let you into the kitchen. They know you know, right? Well, by the way they've been looking around the ship since we've been here, they should."

"Right. . ."

"But if anyone gives you trouble, you'll need to remember the low-level access password: 'Cactaur Running.'"

". . . what?"

"'Cactaur Running.'"

"Okay, that's weird. The only way it would be more weird is if the password was that stupid 'Professor' Daravon poem about the imp stabbing you in the rear."

Cid gasped, "How did you know the high-level password!"

Eloon sighed, burying his face in his gloves.

  


There was very little left to say before the mission began that afternoon, but Rally made one stop to the library, just to check on the book. The librarian showed him the way to the Lore section, after a brief bout with the high-level password ("COME ON, YOU KNOW IT'S ME!") again, and Rally found the tomb with relative ease. It must have been the oldest book there.

Opening it, he saw the curse on the first page. That was a slight shock, as he thought it would have been buried among a lot of ancient poems, but this entire tomb, he realized, was _dedicated_ to the Crystals. He turned to the next page. . .

_History of the Crystals_

_The Crystals of the Elements were first crafted under order of Lord and King Firion of The Holy Empire of Ivalice. In doing so, he created the Order of the Twelve, whose jobs it was to make sure the stones stayed secret, and safe. The great prophet Lukahn warned the great King that the crystals had so much power, that if they ever fell out of their destined spots, the earth would crumble, as told in the Prophesy of the Curse. However. . ._

The page was torn off. Rally checked the quality of the tear. . . it was recent. Someone had been here not but a fortnight ago. The rest of the book seemed unimportant, about the forging themselves, but even if it was important, Rally didn't have the time to dig out the right information. But he did turn to the back page, to see if there was anything else of importance.

_On the deathbed of Lukahn the prophet, he spoke these words:_

_The crystals shall be removed exactly one thousand years from their forging. . . and the world shall not fall into peril, only if the True and Last Hero of the world shall awaken, and destroy them once and for all. . ._

__Rally shivered. That didn't make too much sense. After all, they were moving the crystals, but this book couldn't have been written more than four hundred years ago, and its still much older than most of the books in the library. In fact, the oldest, _The History of Alexandria_ was only six hundred years old; it was the only book retrieved from the library fire during the Fall of Alexandria, and it was the first book to be stored in Salaria's archives.

Oddly enough, that book was the only survivor of Salaria's _own_ great fire. . . Even so, the Holy Empire of Ivalice was the only country of importance, wasn't it? They _made_ the crystals. It was said that the magic power in the world sharply decreased, and that most of the magic of the world lay stored in the crystals. That certainly ought to have caused the Holy Empire to rise in power, since they held all the world's magic.

Or did they? The crystals were held at four precise points on the globe; for the Holy Empire to hold all of them, even if at its peak, must have been a herculean task. All the magic in the world could be counteracted by one small force that was bent on seizing the power, after all. And then it dawned on him.

The stories of the Light Warriors! Rally replaced the ancient prophesy book on the shelf, and scanned the case until he found another, a much newer book, written within the last century. It was an old story, probably shrouded and tainted by myth, but Rally had a feeling there was some deep meaning hidden somewhere.

He pulled a red book off the shelf, and opened it to the first page, where it showed a sketch of the Light Warriors, who were responsible for single handedly restoring the world to peace. In the traditional story, Rally remembered, they even did battle with the Emperor himself. Although the exploits of the heroes took up almost all of the book, near then end it told of the Crystals. They were locked away, and temples were built around them, with monks devoting their lives to keeping the secrets of the crystals, and making sure they never fell into the hands of a country again.

King Salaria hoped that his elite troops could stand up to them, because nobody had even tried to seize the crystals for four centuries. Also the king had a back up plan. . . Of course! That's why General Cicuna was to be sent with the troops! Rally flipped to the last page of the book. It read that the crystals will never fall to any _man_. Keyword, there. . . And though a woman would have probably served a similar purpose, Rally doubted that there was one as powerful as General Cicuna. . .

Rally replaced the book onto the shelf, quickly scanning the bookcase again before returning to the open foyer.

  


It was three in the afternoon. Cicuna sat on his Chocobo mount, looking into the distant Marshlands, when Rally ran up to him. "Reporting for duty," Rally said, giving the salute, "Any immediate signs of the enemy?"

"Not at all. Check near the battle lines, though, especially the towns. Spies will be relatively easy for you to spot, but be careful."

"Absolutely, sir."

"We'll set out in one hour. Better get going."

"Certainly." Rally hopped onto his chocobo. He pulled up the reins and spurred it with the pointed ends of the daggers hidden in his boots, and the Chocobo ran forward. Another joined him, Cicuna watched, that Bounty Hunter. The half-dragon wondered if Rally was paying him or what, not that it mattered. Rally was sincere about his jobs, and he wasn't flaunting when hiring allies; he'd know if that character was a spy or not.

Cicuna sighed, spurring his Chocobo to turn towards the city entrance, walking to the start point. The general sighed; if only he'd listened to his father. . . if only he stayed in the valley. . .

Two guards on the wall watched him pass. "That's General Cicuna, ain't it?" one asked the other.

"Why, sure it is!" The other replied.

"Why's he looking so sad?"

"They say he's always like that. Ever since he came from his homeland to fight in the war, he's never been happy. I worked with him once, when he was just another grunt. He was so mad at his commander, that he ousted him in the field. Said he caused him to get killed, then took over as leader of the unit, and was later promoted to that position. Happened a lot of times. But he never was happy taking orders from anyone."

"But he's a General now, and an incredible one at that! He could be leading the whole army to victory."

"Still, he takes orders from the king. And although I've only heard rumors, they say he's going to marry the princess so he can take the throne. . ."

"That's a lie!" Cicuna called up to them. After all, he had the hearing of a dragon, "I have no interest in politics!"

Both guards looked at him, then the first one shouted, "Then what _would_ you be happy doing?"

Cicuna didn't really know.

  


End of this chapter. Before I can do any more chapters, I'll need someone to send in a concept for the final boss. Okay, then! Ciao!


	4. In which a really big mistske is made

Hey everyone again. Still working on everything, but check out my new livejournal, because it's fun, yay. I'm still trying to get my new comics up and such, so go also visit because I told you to.  


Chapter Three

In which a really big mistake is made

"Reporting in, General Cicuna" Said Rally again, just as the unit was about to move out.

"Any enemy sighted?"

"None whatsoever."

"Good; We'll be covered until we're just out of sight of the castle; the Praetorian unit will cover our flank until we get there. Until then you can just follow us; save your strength and get psyched and all that."

"Yessir." Rally fell back with Eloon, who was following his own flank, and glanced back at the Praetorian. The elite castle guard. They were fully armed at the moment, so they probably outclassed the 'elite unit'.

"Not much of an elite force." Eloon said, "I was kinda expecting it to me more mis-matched."

"Well, it's just the standardized equipment that makes them look similar." Rally said, "I know a couple of these guys, though, and can tell you they're not much alike. Like Sten, over there. He's a master with a sword; fought his way out of the middle of an armed fortress after his recon unit was slaughtered. Oh yes, Biggs is actually quite handy with magic, he invented several rather useful spells and despite his large frame, you've never seen anyone throw a lance farther.

"Wedge is much the same way, only completely different. He's a Colonel, actually, the only reason he's not a general is because Cicuna is in the way. Yeah, he's fought side-by-side with Cicuna, they say he knows much more about the entire army than the Lord General, or the king. Usually that kind of talent goes unrecognized, but he _did_ fight with Cicuna."

"I see." Eloon said, "I wasn't actually interested, but it's nice to know any one of these people could kill me at a moment's notice."

"It's great working with people like that, isn't it?" Rally stepped up the pace to Cicuna.

"General Cicuna, sir, I've just been meaning to ask, Do you know why the king hasn't made you the head of the army yet?"

"I would assume it's because I'm a foreigner." Cicuna said flatly.

"Well I came upon something strange a while ago when I was reading up on the crystals. . ."

"Like what?" Cicuna said with a bit of gruffness.

Rally gulped lightly, "I was going through their history, about the curse and how they were not to be moved from their spots. . ."

"Everyone knows that. . ."

"Why are we moving it, then?"

"The prophesy is extremely old, no doubt it's been exaggerated. . ."

"Even then, I noticed that another prophecy said the Crystals will never fall to any man."

"So. . . I'm not a man, I am a half-dragon, so I may move the crystals."

"Yes, and that got me thinking, why was the king bothering with _that_ prophecy, if he was going to ignore the other one?"

"I cannot say."

Rally sighed; the way things were falling into place, he was probably in trouble.

Up on a hilltop not very far from the castle, the Praetorian broke off the flank and returned back to the castle. "Rally," Cicuna said, "move ahead. We'll be moving up the main road until the Second Barrel Hill, where we'll head eastward into the Dead Woods. Make check points as you find necessary and meet us back up at the Wheat Fields."

"Yessir! Eloon, come on!" The two charged off down the main road. The country air was fresh and clean, only tainted slightly by the rancid chocobo smell.

"These birds are filthy!" Eloon said.

"Yeah, they might be, but the alternative is walking. Or, rather, running really fast." Rally answered.

"Let's see. . . die from horrible disease, or lungs explode and legs give out. Tough decisions. . . Two slow, painful ways to die. One requires less effort. I'll stay with the chocobo."

"Good man." Rally said, "Die the real man's way."

The trip was largely uneventful, as there was nothing. Not even a sound. The birds didn't even bother to chirp. The echoes of moving armor vanished once Rally and Eloon were out of earshot. Silence.

"It's quiet. . ." Rally said, "Too quiet. . ."

"I hope saying that doesn't jinx it." Eloon said, "What I'd like is to not bleed today."

"Well if you can think of anything that'd help us, summon it up, summoner!" Rally answered.

"White Chocobo, Shiva, Ifrit, Ramauh. . . not off the top of my head. I could attempt to summon something I haven't practiced. . ."

"Nevermind, forget I asked." Rally said, "I heard what happens when summoners attempt that."

"Big possibility of sudden death."

"Because the summon will attack everyone. But humor me, what Defenders do you know of?"

Eloon listed them off rapidly, "There's the four I just mentioned, Titan, Leviathan, Golem, Hydra, Valefor, Gilgamesh, Odin, Bahamut, Tiamat, Arthur. . ."

"Do you just, like, memorize these in summoner school or something?" Rally asked.

"Well it's common knowledge to every summoner that there are thirty-two Defenders."

"Wow. What would happen if they were all summoned at once?"

"I don't know, really, and I wouldn't like to be the summoner to find out. That's one of the reasons that a summoner can only perform one summon at a time."

"Hey, how is it that summons rarely fail? I mean, there's got to be like at least a thousand summoners on this planet, what if two summon at the same time?"

"Well, Defenders have to partition their power. Back when the Defenders were first used to be summoned, they allowed all their power to their summoners. As the number of summoners grew, the Defenders had to divide up their powers so they can have separate avatars in different places."

"So let's say, the Shiva you summoned back in the desert. She would have like a tenth of her power?"

"More like a thousandth."

"Wow. . ." Rally gaped in awe, allowing a bug to fly into his open mouth. Rally garbled and spit it out. Eloon grinned with implied amusement.

Rally wiped his mouth. When he changed his attention back to the road, he quickly said "Halt!"

Eloon's chocobo stopped suddenly, causing Eloon to collide with the back of its head. "Ow! What is it!"

"Shh! Up ahead, do you see what I see?"

The King of Thieves was not happy, to say the least. "That's the last time we ever hold a contest as such in the desert." He said to his adviser.

"We've always held the contest in dangerous environments." The adviser told him, riding a chocobo beside the King of Thieves's, "If we started holding them in more controlled areas, we'd be vulnerable to attacks more likely than not."

"Yes, I know. But nearly the same thing happened five years ago. . ."

"It would have been worse had that flying contraption not shown up."

"That flying contraption. It picked up two men, I seem to recall glancing back at them. . ."

"They were not entered into the contest."

"How malicious of them. I ought to give them a prize or something."

"I believe they were spies, or agents, sir."

"Spies? From which country, do you think?"

"The young one with blond hair was obviously Salrian."

"And his partner, too?"

"Well, it was the darndest thing, I was sure I saw that exact same man for sale by a slaver who was attending. . ."

"So where is he from?"

"The slaver had just passed out of Marticia. . ."

"So a Salrian and a Martician are working together?"

An arrow landed at their feet, startling their chocobos. They bucked and backed up.

"The King of Thieves has been waylaid by travelers!" Rally yelled from the top of the hill, "That's brilliant irony right there."

"You!" The King of Thieves replied.

"Yes, me. I'm surprised you're still alive, you know."

"As it is such, you're still a thorn in my side!"

"Aww, I didn't know you cared. Seems like the Sand Worm was a much more significant threat than me."

The King of Thieves drew his sword, "You're only getting in my way now, so stand aside!"

"That's not too necessary. You should be running away like little girls in just a second now."

The King of Thieves and his adviser both glanced at each other briefly. "What?"

The Defender Ifrit bounded from over the hill, landing with a loud crash just in front of the two. The King of Thieves gaped. His eye twitched. He and his adviser suddenly bout-faced and fled as fast as their Chocobos could take them.

"Not so tough." Rally said.

"When he knows what he's facing, he's formidable." Eloon said, then called back Ifrit. "Hopefully, we won't run into him again."

Rally sighed.

"What is it?" Eloon asked.

"I just have this foreboding sense that we should have killed him right here."

"Rally, report." Cicuna said as the squadron approached the Wheat Fields.

"Believe it or not, we ran into the King of Thieves." Rally said, tugging the reins of his Chocobo's harness to get it to walk beside Cicuna.

"I thought he was killed."

"Apparently not." Rally said.

"So did you get rid of him?"

"Yes, sir. Other than that, the road is clear until the temple."

"Any trouble spots at all?"

"There's a riot in Moss Terrain City, but that's about twenty miles from the trail, so just be careful. Bahamut Valley is blowing harsh winds down, so I'd recommend taking the alternate trail from checkpoint seven to checkpoint eight, just in case a dust storm picks up."

"I will do so. What about the temple itself, have you been up there?"

"Not yet, we got as far as the base of the mountain."

"This time I want you to give me a report of what's happening inside the temple before we approach Wind Mountain."

"Will do so, sir. I'll report earlier if I see the riot get out of hand."

"Very good. Now off with you."

Rally turned down the road and sped off. Eloon began to follow, but Cicuna said to him, "Hold fast, summoner."

"What is it?"

"Do you know about the use of magic in the temple areas?"

"Not particularly. Is it dangerous?"

"More than dangerous. Anything cast within the confines of the temples are multiplied greatly, especially in the presence of a crystal. If you're not careful, it'll get out of hand."

"Thank you for the warning. . ." Eloon said, and nodded to him before he, too, about faced to catch up with Rally down the road.

"I don't see why people think Cicuna is a bad person," Eloon said to Rally, "A little straightforward and commanding, but he's awfully nice."

"If you disagree with him, he's nasty," Rally said, "What did he stop you for?"

"Just a warning about using magic in the temple."

"I've heard stories about that. . ."

"Give me the worst example, just as a deterrent."

"There was this wizard who tried to seize the power of the crystals 50 years ago, attacked the Temple of Fire. Inside it, he cast a spell of Waterga. . . an everyone within ten miles just _vanished_."

"If everyone vanished, how do they know he cast Waterga?"

"There's a time recording orb within every temple, which was looked over when one of the monks who guarded the temple returned from a journey."

"That's rather interesting. How come I haven't heard about any of this?"

"It's always kept hush-hush from the general public, so there's never any panic. Well, not too much panic."

"Then how do you know about it?"

"Because my father was the one who spied it out, when he was a special agent to the king."

The two dismounted at the base of Wind Mountain. Rally unpacked his saddlebag, revealing a pilgrimage cloak for him and for Eloon.

"That's rather handy." Eloon said.

"I figured we might have to scout out the temple beforehand, so I brought along two of these. Put them on."

The two robed up and began the ascension of the mountain to the Temple of Wind. It wasn't much of an ascension, the mountain's trail was a rather easy slope, and the mountain was not that tall. At the summit, they came upon the entrance to the temple, which was a hundred feet or so tall, lined with nine white pillars of hewed stone. Rally made his entrance, the doorkeeper said to them, "Where are you pilgrims going?"

"To see the first great crystal of our voyage." Rally replied. He'd read about these customary questions in a book about the crystals. They were much like low level passwords, only not entirely stupid like the ones of Salrian Palace.

"What have the skies told you?"

"That the crystal is beyond the valley." This reply made it sound like Rally lived just on the other side of Bahamut Valley.

"Where will you go?"

"Across the Great Sea toward the remains of the Holy Land." That would be the point in ancient Ivalice where the Earth Crystal was kept.

"Enter in peace."

"May the Defenders aid you always."

Eloon and Rally walked inside the temple when the doors opened. "That was really cheesy." Eloon said flatly.

"Well, you can't really expect it to be loose and be riddled with slang and such. . ."

"But of course."

The main chamber of the temple arced up into a massive dome, pillars on every side for support. The oculus at the top looked down on the Wind Crystal, which filtered green light throughout the room. Rally, dwarfed by the altar it stood upon, walked up to the central prayer ring slowly, his hands folded. Eloon did the same.

The prayer ring was marked the same way as a monster ward, as a red pentagram containing lit candles at each point around the ring, at least large enough to fit one man within. Rally kneeled down before the crystal and said, "May the Defenders bless this planet forever, amen." Eloon did the same.

"Seems safe enough here." Eloon whispered to Rally.

"Right, but let's wait until Cicuna is within eyesight before we report to him. . ."

"Seems rather dull, actually. . ."

"Don't jinx it."

"May I ask again what we're doing here?" The adviser asked of the King of Thieves.

"It's very simple," he replied, "All we need to do is pretend that we're nomads from Bahamut Valley, and we plea with the head of the Wind Temple to restore our camp which was destroyed."

"The head of the Wind Temple never allows such things. . ."

"That's where this comes in." He held up an amulet, "this device right here ensures total cooperation."

"Where did you get that?"

"You don't become the King of Thieves without obtaining the most useful treasure."

"May I at least ask why we're doing this?"

"Bahamut Valley is the most secure area we've been at, but the event was. . . unfortunate."

"I thought we had put up a ward against monsters around the camp, which is strange."

"Sand doesn't hold a ward too well, which is the other key element of this plan. The head of the Wind Temple knows that, so when he restores the camp he'll put up a permanent protection for my tent plus a nice big radius for it, and viola, no more monster problems."

"Brilliant, sir."

"I know, isn't it?"

"Cicuna's army is approaching. . ." Eloon whispered to Rally, looking off the summit from the upper floor of the temple.

"Good, let's. . ." Rally was stopped mid sentence when he saw two figures ascending the mountain. "Something's wrong."

"What is it? How do you know?"

"Those two climbing the mountain aren't wearing pilgrimage robes."

"Maybe they're just travelers. . ."

"Possibly, but. . ." Rally pulled out his spyglass, "The King of Thieves and his advisor."

"What, again? How many times are we going to run into them?"

"With what luck, they were headed here the entire time. . . take the alternate path down and report to Cicuna, I'll make sure that they don't do anything stupid. . ."

"That was such a bust, kupo. . ." Kopu said, lounging on the saddle of his Chocobo, "If it wasn't for that idiot. . ."

"He seemed awfully battle smart for an idiot, he just interefered with _our_ plans. . ." Diamond said, walking alongside him, "Ruby, where are we now?"

"We're near the Wind Mountain," Ruby answered, looking at her map, "where the Wind Crystal is kept."

"Looks like it's about to rain." Kopu said, "Maybe we can get shelter there?"

"Seeing as how monks are usually benevolent like that, I don't see any reason why not." Diamond replied. He leaned over to read a road sign, "This path right here looks good, the main path is about a half mile away. . ."

There was a sharp whistle in the air. A man in monk's robes sped down the path, when a Chocobo suddenly sprang up from around the mountainside. All three of the thieves were knocked aside as the man mounted the chocobo in one bound and took off towards the south. Warky squawked.

"How rude!" Diamond said, "I wonder what that was all about."

"Did he seem familiar to you?" Kopu asked.

"Not particularly," Ruby answered, looking up at the sky, "We better hurry before the path gets muddy."

"How fare you, traveler?" Asked the gatekeeper. The questions were different if the visitor was not wearing pilgrimage clothes."

"We wish to see the head of the temple," The King of Thieves replied.

"The High Priest only sees those who bear a gift."

"We bear a gift," said the King of Thieves, holding up the medallion.

"Enter and be well, traveler, you may pass to the right corridor only. You must not pass into the Sacred Chamber with any obstructive magic, under penalty of execution."

"Very well, we shall keep that in mind." He bowed respectfully to the gatekeeper and walked inside.

Rally, watching the procession from the second floor, wondered curiously what they were up to. "Maybe I should have killed them. . ."

And Eloon charged off toward Cicuna with the news.


End file.
